Medieval India: New Kingdoms, Delhi Sultans, Mughals, Bhakti-Sufi Paths and Regional Cultures (Class VII History)

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Sources and new kingdoms

For the period from about 700 to 1750, historians use inscriptions, coins, buildings, chronicles written in Persian and manuscripts copied by hand. Between the 7th and 12th centuries new dynasties rose, often from samantas, powerful landlords and warriors; the Rashtrakuta chief Dantidurga overthrew his Chalukya overlord and performed the hiranya-garbha ritual. The Gurjara-Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas and Palas fought for Kanauj in the tripartite struggle. Mahmud of Ghazni (997-1030) raided the subcontinent 17 times, plundering temples such as Somnath, and Al-Biruni, who came with him, wrote the Kitab al-Hind. The Chauhan ruler Prithviraja III defeated Sultan Muhammad Ghori in 1191 but lost to him in 1192.

The Cholas

Vijayalaya captured the Kaveri delta from the Muttaraiyar in the middle of the 9th century. Rajaraja I, king from 985, built the Rajarajeshvara temple at Thanjavur, and his son Rajendra I raided the Ganga valley, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia and founded Gangaikondacholapuram. Chola bronzes were made by the lost-wax technique. Peasant settlements (ur) were grouped into nadu, and brahmadeya lands given to brahmanas were managed by a sabha; inscriptions at Uttaramerur in Tamil Nadu describe sabha members being chosen by lot from palm-leaf tickets drawn from a pot.

The Delhi Sultans

Delhi first became a capital under the Tomara Rajputs. The Sultanate had five dynasties: the early Turkish rulers (1206-1290), the Khaljis (1290-1320), the Tughluqs (1320-1414), the Sayyids (1414-1451) and the Lodis (1451-1526). Raziyya, daughter of Iltutmish, ruled from 1236 to 1240. Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316) built Siri as a garrison town against the Mongols, paid soldiers in cash and controlled prices; Muhammad Tughluq (1324-1351) shifted people to Daulatabad and issued a token currency. Commanders called muqtis held iqtas and paid soldiers from their revenue, and the land tax, kharaj, was about half the peasant's produce. Sher Shah Sur (1540-1545) defeated Humayun, and his administration became a model for Akbar.

The Mughals

Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat in 1526 and Rana Sanga at Khanwa in 1527; Humayun lost to Sher Shah at Chausa (1539) and Kanauj (1540). Akbar (1556-1605) won the second battle of Panipat against Hemu in 1556 and ruled through mansabdars: zat fixed a mansabdar's rank and salary, sawar the number of cavalrymen he had to keep, and he was paid through revenue assignments called jagirs. Todar Mal surveyed crop yields and prices for 10 years (1570-1580) and fixed revenue in cash under the zabt system. In the ibadat khana at Fatehpur Sikri, from 1575, Akbar heard scholars of many faiths and developed the idea of sulh-i kul, universal peace; Abul Fazl wrote the Akbar Nama, whose third volume is the Ain-i Akbari.

Buildings and towns

Trabeate construction laid horizontal beams across columns; from the 12th century the arcuate style used arches, whose keystone carried the weight, and limestone cement. The Qutb Minar was built by Qutbuddin Aybak and Iltutmish; Humayun's tomb set the pattern of a central dome, a tall gateway (pishtaq) and the chahar bagh, a four-part garden, which Shah Jahan perfected in the Taj Mahal. The NCERT book says the Kandariya Mahadeva temple at Khajuraho was built in 999 by the Chandela king Dhangadeva, though most historians date it to about 1030, under the later Chandela king Vidyadhara. Hampi, capital of Vijayanagara, fell into ruin after its defeat by the Deccani sultans in 1565, and Surat, the main Mughal port for West Asia, was called the gate to Mecca because pilgrim ships sailed from it.

Tribes and devotional paths

Banjaras were trader-nomads whose caravans (tanda) carried grain, and Alauddin Khalji used them to supply Delhi. Rani Durgawati of the Gond kingdom of Garha Katanga resisted the Mughals (the NCERT book gives 1565; most historians date her last battle to 1564), and the Ahoms, who came from present-day Myanmar in the 13th century, were defeated by the Mughals in 1662. The 63 Nayanars (devotees of Shiva) and 12 Alvars (devotees of Vishnu) sang in Tamil between the 7th and 9th centuries; Shankara (8th century) taught Advaita, Ramanuja (11th century) Vishishtadvaita, and Basavanna led the Virashaiva movement in Karnataka in the 12th century. The saints of Maharashtra, such as Jnaneshwar, Namdev and Tukaram, worshipped Vitthala at Pandharpur. Chishti Sufis such as Muinuddin Chishti of Ajmer and Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi met followers in khanqahs. Kabir rejected ritual and caste; Guru Nanak (1469-1539) started a langar at Kartarpur; Guru Arjan compiled the Adi Granth in 1604, and Guru Gobind Singh founded the Khalsa in 1699.

Regional cultures and the 18th century

Malayalam developed under the Chera kingdom of Mahodayapuram in the 9th century; at Puri, Anantavarman of the Ganga dynasty built the Jagannatha temple in the 12th century, and in 1230 Anangabhima III dedicated his kingdom to the deity; Kathak grew from temple storytellers (kathakas) and flourished under Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. After Aurangzeb died in 1707, Nadir Shah sacked Delhi in 1739 and Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded north India five times between 1748 and 1761, while Awadh, Bengal and Hyderabad became virtually independent. The Sikh misls protected cultivators under the rakhi system for 20 per cent of the produce, and Ranjit Singh made Lahore his capital in 1799. The Marathas collected chauth (25 per cent of land revenue) and sardeshmukhi (9-10 per cent) but lost the third battle of Panipat in 1761.

Key facts

Tripartite struggle for Kanauj: Gurjara-Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas and Palas; Mahmud of Ghazni (997-1030) raided 17 times; Al-Biruni wrote the Kitab al-Hind.
Prithviraja III Chauhan defeated Muhammad Ghori in 1191 but lost in 1192; Rajaraja I (Chola) became king in 985 and built the Rajarajeshvara temple at Thanjavur.
Sultanate dynasties: early Turkish 1206-1290, Khalji 1290-1320, Tughluq 1320-1414, Sayyid 1414-1451, Lodi 1451-1526; Raziyya ruled 1236-1240.
Alauddin Khalji: Siri, cash salaries, price control; Muhammad Tughluq: Daulatabad, token currency; iqta held by a muqti; kharaj was about half the produce.
Mughal battles: Panipat 1526 (Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi), Khanwa 1527 (Rana Sanga), Chausa 1539 and Kanauj 1540 (Sher Shah defeats Humayun), Panipat 1556 (Akbar's forces defeat Hemu).
Mansabdari: zat = rank and salary, sawar = cavalrymen to be kept, pay through jagirs; Todar Mal's zabt; ibadat khana at Fatehpur Sikri (1575); sulh-i kul.
Arcuate style: arch with a keystone; pishtaq and chahar bagh seen in Humayun's tomb and the Taj Mahal; Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho: 999 and Dhangadeva in NCERT (most historians: about 1030, Vidyadhara).
Bhakti and Sufi: 63 Nayanars (Shiva), 12 Alvars (Vishnu); Basavanna (Virashaiva); Vitthala at Pandharpur; Chishti khanqahs; Guru Nanak's langar at Kartarpur; Adi Granth 1604; Khalsa 1699.
18th century: Nadir Shah sacked Delhi in 1739; Abdali invaded five times between 1748 and 1761; chauth 25 per cent, sardeshmukhi 9-10 per cent; Sikh rakhi 20 per cent; Ranjit Singh's capital Lahore 1799.
In class: compare a court chronicle and a temple inscription about the same king, and ask why each writer praised or blamed him, rather than only asking for dynasties and dates.

Quick revision

Tripartite struggle for Kanauj; Mahmud of Ghazni 17 raids; Prithviraja III 1191 and 1192; Cholas: Rajaraja I 985, Uttaramerur sabha; Sultanate five dynasties 1206-1526; iqta, kharaj; Mughals: Panipat 1526, mansabdari, zabt, sulh-i kul; arcuate arches; Banjaras, Gonds, Ahoms; Nayanars, Alvars, Sufis, Kabir, Nanak; Kathak; Nadir Shah 1739; Panipat 1761.

Practise this topic

All 10 lessons on Social Studies and its Pedagogy (Paper II)